American Royalty: New York's First Four Hundred

New York in the Gilded Age, Mr. and Mrs. Goodhue Livingston and
Mrs. Alfred Vanderbilt at a Coaching Club event, c1890.

“In my opinion, four generations of gentlemen make as good and true a gentleman as forty,” said Ward McCallister, New York City society’s self-appointed arbiter from the 1860s until his death in 1895. After the Civil War, the American economy boomed. The number of millionaires more than doubled than the belle epoch era while European migrants swarmed to New York for opportunities. Thus, the once genteel society dominated by the old moneyed class, most of which are descendants of merchant colonists and Revolutionary heroes, came under the threat of the much wealthier nouveau riche. Ward McCallister worked together with the indomitable society queen of New York, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, notoriously known as ­the Mrs. Astor, to ensure shield New York society from the new money, which they called arrivistes.

McCallister set the limit of those who were “in” the New York society, or least to Mrs. Astor’s circle to 400 people, which was said to be the number that could comfortably fit in his patroness’ ballroom. It immediately caught with the press and to this day, they are still called the Four Hundred, hailed as America's royalty. He amplified for the benefit of the press. (the Mrs. Astor would never deal with the press, one thing that set her apart from her social rivals).

“Why there are only about four hundred people in fashionable New York society. If you go outside that number you strike people who are either not at ease in a ball or else make other people not at ease. See that point?... When we give a large ball like the last New Year’s ball for eight hundred guests, we go outside the exclusive fashionable set , and invite professional men, doctors, lawyers, editors, artists and the like.”

On the February 16, 1892 issue of The New York Times, McCallister gives out the list of who’s who in the Four Hundred.

"The so-called Four Hundred has not been cut down or dwindled to 150 names," said Ward McAllister yesterday. "The nonsense, don't you know, printed to that effect in the World and some other papers, has made a very bad impression that will reflect badly against them, you understand. That list of names, you understand, printed on Sunday, did not come from me, don't you see. It is unauthorized, don't you see. But it is accurate as far as it goes, you understand.

"It is incomplete and does injustice, you understand, to many eligible millionaires. Think of leaving out such names, don't you know, as Chauncey M. Depew, Gen. Alexander S. Webb, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cooper, Mr. and Mrs. Luther Kountze, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goelet, Mrs. and Miss Wilson, Miss Greene, and many others! Don't you understand, it is absurd, senseless.

"Let me explain, don't you know. There are three dinner dances, don't you know, during the season, and the invitations, don't you see, are issued to different ladies and gentlemen each time, do you understand? So at each dinner dance, you know, are only 150 people of the highest set, don't you know. So, during the season, you, 400 different invitations are issued.

"Wait a moment and I will give you a correct list, don't you know, of the people who form what is known as the Four Hundred. Do you understand it will be authorized, reliable, and, don't you know, the only correct list."

Here is the list of names who, according to McCallister, makes up the beau monde of New York today:

A

Mr. and Mrs. F. R. Appleton

Fred H. Allen

Mr. and Mrs. Astor

Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Astor

B

Mr. and Mrs. George H. Bend

Miss Amy Bend

Miss Beatrice Bend

Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Bryce

Mrs. Cavendish Bentinok

Mr. and Mrs. F. Bronson

Reber Bishop

Miss Bishop

William Harold Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Edmund N. Baylies

Mr. Temple Bowdein

Mr. and Mrs. J. Townsend Burden

Miss Burden

Mrs. Barbey

Miss Barbey

Harold Brown

Edward Bulkley

Mr. and Mrs. James L. Barclay

C.C. Baldwin

Miss Baldwin

C.C. Baldwin, Jr.

Gen. and Mrs. Henry L. Burnett

C

Mr. Thomas Cushing

Miss Edith Cushing

Mr. F. Bayard Cutting,

Miss Coster,

Mr. Harry Coster

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Carroll

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Cary

Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop Chandler

Mrs. Brockholst Cutting

Mr. and Mrs. Harry Cannon

Robert L. Cutting, Jr.

Col. J. Schuyler Crosby

Miss Crosby

Mr. and mrs. W. Bayard Cutting

Mr. and Mrs. S.V.R. Cruger

Wawlings Cottenet

F. Brockholst Cutting,

W. Cutting, Jr.

Sir Roderick Cameron

Duncan Cameron

The Misses Cameron

Mr. and Mrs. James Cross

Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cooper

The Misses Chanler

William B. Coster

D

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Dana

Mr. and Mrs. George B. De Forest

Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey M. Depew

Mr. and Mrs. Frederic De Peyster

Dr. and Mrs. Francis Delafield

Miss Delafield

Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Dyer, Jr.

E

Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Elliott

F

H. De Courcy Forbes

Mr. and Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish

Mr. and Mrs. C.G. Francklyn

J. C. Furman

Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton Fish, Jr.

Theodore Frelinghuysen

G

Augustus C. Gurnee

Mr. and Mrs. Ogden Goelet

Mr. Frank G. Griswold

Miss Greene

McAllister Greene,

Miss Grant

H

Robert F. Hawkes

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Howard

Mr. and Mrs. Carly Havemeyer

Meredith Howland

Mr. and Mrs. Valentine G. Hall

Miss Hall

John A. Hadden, Jr.,

I

Mr. and Mrs. Columbus Iselin

Isaac Iselin

J

Mrs. William Jaffray

Miss Jaffray

Mrs. F.R. Jones

Miss Beatrix Jones

Shipley Jones

K

Mr. and Mrs. DeLancey Kane

Nicholson Kane

Miss Knowlton

Miss Sybel Kane

Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Kernochan

Col. and Mrs. Kip

Miss Kipp

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Kernochan

L

Miss Lusk

Arthur Leary

Mrs. Maturin Livingston

Mr. and Mrs. James Lanier

Mr. and Mrs. Henry B. Livingston

Edward Livingston

Miss Clarissa Livingston

Edward De Peyster Livingston

M

Mr. and Mrs. Clement C. Moore

Ward McAllister

Mr. and Mrs. Charles N. Marshall

Clement March

Mr. and Mrs. O. Mills

Mr. and Mrs. B. Martin

F.T. Martin

Peter Marie

Mr. and Mrs. H.W. McVickar

Mr. and Mrs. A.N. Morris

Miss Morris

Mr. and Mrs. R. Mortimer

Miss Morgan

N

Mr. and Mrs. T. Newbold

Mrs. Frederick Nelson

O

S.H. Olin

Mr. and Mrs. O Oelrichs

James Otis

Miss otis

P

Edward Post

Richard Poters

Mr. and Mrs. B.C. Porter

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pendleton

Julian Potter

I.V. Packer

Mr. and Mrs. H. N. Potter

Gen. and Mrs. Pierson

Miss Pierson

Mr. and Mrs. George B. Post

Mrs. William H. Perry

Miss Perry

Q (No Listing)

R

Gonid H. Redmond

Mrs. Rogers

Miss rogers

J. Ritchie

T.J. Oakley Rhinelander

Miss Cora Randolph Mrs. Burke Roche

Mr. and Mrs. S.O. Ripley

D.T.L. Robinson

R.K. Richards

Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Robinson, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. H. Robins

S

Miss Sands

Mr. and Mrs. William D. Sloane

Mr. and Mrs. Philip Schuyler

Mr. and Mrs. Byam K. Stevens

Lispensard Stewart

Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Sherman

Miss Adele Sloane

Mr. and Mrs. Anson Phelps Stokes

Miss Stokes

Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Suydam

Mr. and Mrs. F.K. Sturgis

Miss Elizabeth Stevens

T

G. Mead Tooker

Miss Tooker

E.N. Tailer

Mr. and Mrs. H. McKay Twombly

Miss Tailer

Marquise de Talleyrand

U (No Listing)

V

Miss Mable Van Rensselaer

Miss Alice Van Rensselaer

Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Venderbilt

George W. Vanderbilt

Mrs. A. Van Rensselaer

James Varnum

W

Mr. Worthington Whitehouse

Mr. and Mrs. W. Seward Webb

Barton Willing

Miss Willing

Gov. and Mrs. Wetmore

Miss Wetmore

Egerton Winthrop

Thomas C. Winthrop

F.B. Winthrop

Mr. and Mrs. Ben. Wells

Mr. and Mrs. W.C. Whitney

Miss Georgiana L. Wilmerding

Mrs. C.A. Whittler

Mr. and Mrs. Wysong

M.A. Wilkes

Mr. and Mrs. W. Storrs Wells

Gen. and Mrs. Alexander S. Webb

Miss Carrie Webb

Alexander S. Webb